LA LAKERS: LAST SEASON: 35-47, missed playoffs.
COACH: Luke Walton (third season).
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE: G Rajon Rondo (8.3 ppg, New Orleans), G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (13.4 ppg), F Brandon Ingram (16.1 ppg), F LeBron James, (27.5 ppg, Cleveland), C JaVale McGee (4.8 ppg, Golden State).
KEY LOSSES: F Julius Randle, G Isaiah Thomas, C Brook Lopez
KEY ADDITIONS: James, Rondo, McGee, G Lance Stephenson, F Michael Beasley
PLAYERS TO WATCH: The biggest star in basketball joined this glamorous franchise as a free agent. After appearing in eight straight NBA Finals and winning three titles, the 33-year-old James accepted the challenge of starting over on the West Coast with several fellow veteran newcomers and a fairly talented young Lakers core. His ability to get the most out of this mix will be one of the NBA's most compelling story lines.
OUTLOOK: James' ability to carry a team is unquestionable, and he arguably succeeded with less help in Cleveland than he should get from these Lakers. No serious observers believe the Lakers can compete with Golden State or join Houston and Boston as true contenders for the Warriors' throne, but ending the Lakers' franchise-record five-year playoff drought would be a promising start to the LeBron era in LA.

UTAH: LAST SEASON: 48-34, lost in Western Conference semifinals
COACH: Quin Snyder (fifth season)
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE: G Ricky Rubio (13.1 ppg), G Donovan Mitchell (20.5 ppg), F Joe Ingles (11.5 ppg), F Derrick Favors (12.3 ppg), C Rudy Gobert (13.5 ppg).
KEY LOSSES: F Jonas Jerebko
KEY ADDITIONS: G Grayson Allen
PLAYER TO WATCH: Mitchell. His emergence keyed Utah's dominant run to close out the regular season a year ago. Can Mitchell continue to elevate his game in his sophomore NBA season? His rookie season exceeded all expectations as he carved an identity as an electrifying scorer. The Jazz benefited from his scoring punch late in games. Mitchell finished the season averaging 20.5 points while shooting 43.7 percent from the field.
OUTLOOK: Utah appeared headed for the lottery until putting together a dramatic turnaround over the final 35 games last season. With all of last season's key players back in place, the Jazz are counting on continuity and chemistry to help them become a serious postseason threat among Western Conference teams in 2018-19.

PREVIEW

Mitchell propels Jazz into meeting with Lakers

When Donovan Mitchell flips the switch, there are few NBA teams that can turn it off again. Mitchell has been "on" for the Utah Jazz in January.

Mitchell, through the first five games of the month, is averaging 24.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.8 rebounds. The second-year guard is shooting 47.1 percent from 3-point range (16 of 34) in that stretch, which is going a long way to helping the Jazz overcome the absence of injured point guards Ricky Rubio and Dante Exum heading into Friday's home game with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Mitchell turned in one of his best all-around performances of the season in rallying Utah to a 106-93 victory over Orlando on Wednesday. He scored 33 points -- his fifth 30-plus game of the season -- on 12-of-21 shooting and matched his season-high with seven assists.

"My biggest thing is not to change the mindset, just because we're down two point guards," Mitchell told reporters after the game. "Just being aggressive and making the right reads. That's what I've been doing and that's what I'm going to continue to do."

As good as Mitchell is playing, the Jazz will need to get production from third-string point guard Raul Neto to keep going while Rubio recovers from a hamstring strain and Exum deals with an ankle sprain. Neto made his first start of the season against the Magic, responding with 10 points, three assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes.

He showed a steady hand in guiding the offense, which is exactly what Utah wants from Neto.

The Lakers are also searching for ways to stay afloat as LeBron James remains sidelined with a groin strain.

James will not travel to Utah. He was evaluated by team medical staff and physicians on Thursday, when the team announced James has been cleared to increase on-court functional basketball movements. The Lakers are scheduled to provide another update Wednesday.

Just like with Utah, younger players are stepping up to propel Los Angeles to success.

Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting to help the Lakers beat Dallas 107-97 on Monday. That marked the most points the third-year pro has scored in regulation in an NBA game.

Then, Kyle Kuzma dropped a career-high 41 points on 16-of-24 shooting in only three quarters to power the Lakers past Detroit 113-100 on Wednesday.

Since returning from a seven-game absence because of a sprained ankle, Ingram has averaged 18.4 points over his last 11 games. Kuzma has been electric as well.

The second-year forward averaged 22.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in December. So far, in January, Kuzma is averaging 19.3 points on 44 percent shooting despite missing two games with a lower-back injury.

"I know I'm a great shooter," Kuzma said. "My percentage may not reflect that (in some games), but I'm always confident in shooting. I'm always in the gym just trying to continue to put work in every single day."

This is the second meeting of the season between the Jazz and Lakers. Los Angeles beat Utah 90-83 on Nov. 23 after the Jazz swept the 2017-18 season series. James paced the Lakers with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Ingram added 24 points for Los Angeles in the victory.